Tag Archives: Japanese

Much like the Shark Eye at Mother of Pearl and a Bloody Mary (or Red Snapper) at Old King Cole Bar, the Sakagura Martini has become the stuff of NYC cocktail legend and in just a matter of a year. While it is very visual and Instagram-ready (if you can find the right light and angle), the drink is simplicity itself. Except you might not have thought of combining gin, sake, and maraschino liqueur for a smooth subtle martini twist. And garnished with a preserved cherry blossom, you’ll completely forget olives ever existed. Price: $16

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

When people ask me what’s my favorite restaurant in the city, I laugh and roll my eyes responding about how impossible that is to choose. But the truth is I probably should tell them Kyo Ya.

It’s such a humble, under-the-radar place that even I forget about it sometimes. I’ve had my birthday dinner there twice and been by for a few other special meals. For those that don’t know, it’s a Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant with both an a la carte menu and a seasonal tasting kaiseki. The delicacy and inventiveness here often backs up my statement that Japanese food is my favorite cuisine.

Two years ago, the Kyo Ya team opened a slightly less fancy restaurant a few blocks away and called it Autre Kyo Ya (which means “Other Kyo Ya” in French). And here the food is advertised as a fusion between Japanese favors and French cooking techniques. (more…)

This is one of the dishes on my list that is no longer available in New York. But you could try it if you visit Johnny Noodle King in Detroit. Back in May, they were the featured ramen chefs at the constantly changing Ramen Lab. It’s too bad if you missed it because the springy noodles were gently mixed with an addicting smoked butter and brightened up with funky mustard greens and Korean chili pepper. This one might be worth flying to Detroit of all places. Price: $12

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

I decided to treat myself recently. My birthday was a few weeks ago and I always crave high-end sushi around that time. Let’s face it, I’m always craving high-end sushi. But I am also craving a place to live so I can’t always make it a reality.

But in the last year or so, a number of spots in New York have started specializing in what many consider affordable high-end sushi. These omakase tasting menus range from $50 up to $85. Some of you may still refuse to believe that this is affordable, but when you consider Masa costs $595 per person, $50 sounds like a steal.

The first to gain much notoriety with this was Sushi on Jones which is part of Bowery Market and features outdoor seating only. I walk by this tiny hole in the wall very often and have been tempted by their $50 12-piece omakase. When I finally got around to splurging, I discovered the controversial chef David Bouhadana had left and opened a new $50 sushi restaurant called Sushi by Bou. (more…)

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

When asked where I want to go for my birthday, it’s an impossible decision to make. So many places to try. But generally, I crave Japanese food and since Mifune was in the press as a hot new opening from a Michelin-starred Japanese chef, it made sense to try it out.

I have to admit it was a bit hit and miss. They are brand new so perhaps they are still getting their footing. The service, for instance, was incredibly strange. Everybody was very pleasant but nobody seemed to know anything about the specifics of the menu or how to properly serve dishes. If you’re paying this kind of money, you do want some semblance of high quality service to go with it.

Of course, if the food shines, I could overlook weird service. And I was treated to the tasting menu to get a little bit of everything. I found some of the dishes rather uninspired and flat. But others were really tasty and unique. I thought about including the tasting menu’s grand finale of foie gras rice with an inventive saboyan foam as the dish of the week. But in the end it was something else that stuck with me a week later. (more…)

Fish ice cream sounds pretty weird and potentially disgusting to most. I would be one of the crazy people who would actually try it. In fact, I’ve already consumed lobster ice cream up in Maine. It was indeed weird. But that’s another sotyr.

Actual fish ice cream is not what millenials are waiting hours in line to taste and snap a photo of at Taiyaki NYC. Instead they are obsessing over a riff on a Japanese street food snack that are shaped like fish. But they do not contain any seafood.

In fact, the fish part is actually just the shape of the waffle-iron cooked cone. In Japan (and in parts of New York), you can find this browned doughy treat stuffed with red beans. Here what they do is they use it to hold ice cream. (more…)

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